tv American Morning CNN September 13, 2010 6:00am-9:00am EDT
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morning. we are on freedom watch this u. morning. u.s. hiker sarah shourd could be heading home within hours after spending more than a year of her life alone in an iranian prison. the question is, of course, if iran will make good on its word. a dangerous situation unfolding in the atlantic ocean, hurricane igor now a category four storm and gaining strength. we've got details on whether the east coast could be in line for a direct hit. uplifting news about jobs out there. we have the sixobs with six-figure salaries that don't require you spend four years of your life hitting the books. >> i don't kno if i know about that story, i want my kids to hit the books. join the live conversation right now. go to cnn.com/amfix. new this morning, surveying the damage, victims of the san bruno gas explosions and fires were allowed back into their neighborhoods for the first time this morning. four people are confirmed dead and in all 37 homes were destroyed. california regulators ordering
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pg&e to insct all gasines in the state. firefighters battling a wildfire outside of boulder, colorado, are bein called to another potentiall dangerous one to the north. a brush fire west of loveland, already growing to nearly 700 acres and forcing mandatory evacuations in the area. officials have ordered a fire ban hoping to prevent the aggressive blaze from spreading. and obviously at this time, you know, this would be a good time for folks up in colorado to get some rain -- much-needed rain out there. but we're not absolutely sure they're going to get it at this point. but the man who does know is that man over there, rob marciano with the weather forecast. how is it looi in the west? i know you've got the tropics behind you. but rob, we're wondering about colorado. how are things looking? are they going to get rain? >> the rains they do get this time of year are a little bit dicey. particularly thunderstorms create more damage than good. but cooler weather, which is good news, and they'll always take that. that's certainly on thway.
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as a matter of fact, we're getting to time of year where that higher elevations will actually get some snow. also the time of year where the tropics are definitely getting more active. we're watching something in the caribbean. mostly because it's very close to home and we had some planes roll in there yesterday. a number of different aircraft investigated it and so far it hasn't been determined to be of any consequence as of late. but this thing on the left side of your screen there, that's igor, which at one point was just a little thing when we last talked on friday. it has exploded into a category four hurricane with winds of 150 miles an hour. look at at thing. it is a beast with a -- an eye in diameter, diameter eye of about 15 naucal miles. it is rolling westward, heading in the general direction of the united states. and the big question is does it recurve like a lot of storms have been doing this year or continue off to the west?
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we'll talk about that forecast a little bit later on the program. and then behind that, which you can barely see off to the right of your screen, that is tropical storm julia. a weaker thing f sure. but she'll have time to develop, as well. now, right now, battering the cape verde islands. we're in the heart of tropical season here, this is typically the peak ofna it. and mother nature's not disappointing. hopefully we'lkeep some of these out to sea, but no promises on that. back to you guys in n york. >> and rob, we won't get into the whole igor versus igor debate. i'm a young frankenstein fan. >> who is that? >> when iat hear that debate going, it brings me back. thanks for that. or not. thanks, rob. >> but it's igor. >> yes. education reform. you're going to be hearing about that a lot this week. it sounds great, everybody wants better schools for their kids, right? >> yes. but in d.c., the former mayor
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adrian fenty is battling for his political life. it could have an affect on education reform nationwide. live in washington this morning. mayor fenty has made a few enemies along the way trying t upgrade d.c.'s school system. >> he has. there are other big local factors in d.c.'s democratic mayoral primary, one issue playing a significant role also carries significant national implications, education reform. then, known as a democratic dynamo, mayor fenty came into office in 2006, he quickly took complete controlli of the faili public school system and handed it over to new chancellor michelle rey. she ushered in change that grabbed national attention, including shutting down 200 schools, firing more than 100 teachers. and overhauling the system, linking it to student performance for the first time
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and doing away in large part with tenure, putting in its place teacher performance pay. but fenty wants a rising star, as you mentioned is now in the fight for his career. we caught up with him. >> you asked me whether we would make the decisions we made around education reform now knowing everything we did? i say absolutely, yes. 100 times out of 100. i was elected to do what's right for the city and not what's politically popular. and that's what we did fixing and the great thing is our t our schools. schools are better off for them. >> fenty acknowledged to me yesterday that the aggressive reforms have cost him in the polls, but he, as you heard there, isunapologetic saying d.c. students and schools have ffered for too long, candy. a >> and kate, just curious, why should the rest of the country care about what happens in this race?ou obviously the folks in d.c. care, the metropolitan area, what about the rest of the country? is it basically because of this
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issue of education? >> it is because of the issue of education. and here's why. the reforms that are happening that are currently underway in d.c. schools, as we've mentioned have definitely ruffled feathers locally and nationally including local and national teachers unions, but also exactly what the obama administration is calling for nationwide d the administration has put up pre it cash to offering more than $3 billion in competitive grants for innovative reform efforts just like d.c.'s. and in the most recent polls, fenty is either neck and neck or losing to his challenger vincent gray. and they count education as a chief concern heading into then polls. rthis is leaving some to wonder if the results of this race are kind of a test case. and could create a chilling effect on national reform efforts simply fear that politicians will see reform efforts that are happening in d.c. backed by the obama admistration is just too politically risky to take on. >> right. and kate, everybody it seems in
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the country has heard about michelle rey. she was on the cover of "time" magazine, made education reform a vogu thg to watch politically across the country. so this is going to be a very interesting race to watch with lots of ramifications. >> a piti of a petri dish. but we should also say that the mayor has been in trouble for how he cleared the snow after two blizzards too. just as one who lived through it, i can s that caused him problems. >> politics is always local, but here's a portion of this that people nationally should pay attention to. another interesting race we have to watch tomorrow features a sarah palin teann party candidate running for a front seat in deaware. and she could win. even though some members insist she isn't qualified. john avalon weighs in on that contest in the next half hour. ancnn is the place for politics. head to cnn.com/politics. and coming up in a few moments, we're going to try to get out to reza sayah.
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her fiancend shane bauer and friend josh fattal. >> iran said they were u.s. spies, sarah shourd has been in solitary confinement ever since. and her family says she is sick. reza sayah is monitoring the situation. we all want to know what's going to happen. >> reporter: yeah, at this point, we are waiting to see if sarah shourd isoing to be released. and if so, when. with all the waffling the iranian officials have done with this case, it's hard to tell where things stand right now. of course, last week iranianfi officials came out and said sarah shourd would be eleased, then they say she wouldn't released. on sunday, a senior prosecutor in tehran came out again and said iran is offering in t release her in exchange for $0,000 in bail money. i spoke to sarah shourd's lawyer who also represents the other two hikers about an hour ago and he said although there'sno new
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developments at this hour, everything is in place for this release to take place. all iranian officials are waiting for is the money to be transferd. with tehran and washington not having any diplomat relations, the swiss embassy in tehran is going to play the role of mediator in this case. the likely scenario is going to be the family of someone is going to come up with $500,000, theyl transfer it to sss r officials, and they'll transfer anit to the judiciary and then e release will take place. at this t point, it's a wait an see. but good news for sarah shourd according to iranian officials, she can go home if sheil comes with that hefty bail money. >> ireza, it is good news for shourd. but the question is, what's happening to the othery two? what'sikely to happen to them? >> reporter: well, the senior prosecutor yesterday in tehran in his news conference said that the other two hikers, sane bauer and josh fattal are not going anywhere.
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he says there's enough evidence to show the two were spying when they crossed the border in july of 2009. of course, spying is a very serious crime inic iran. if convted, you could face the death penalty, candy. so the ordeal far from over for those two hikers. >> and very troubling. thanks so much, reza, appreciate it. do you need to go to college to get a six figure salary? maybe not. we'll show you six jobs that allow you to train on the job instead of at the college campus. it is now about 13 minutes past the top of the hour. hi, ellen! hi, ellen! hi, ellen! hi, ellen! we're going on a field trip to china! wow. [ chuckles ] when i was a kid, we -- we would just go to the -- the farm. [ cow moos ] [ laughter ] no, seriously, where are you guys going? ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! ni hao! [ female announcer ] the new clasoom. see it. live it. share it. on the human network. cisco.
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you can't figure out whether parents will be appreciative or not with this next story. it does beg the question what does that four-year degree get you these days? it may surpse you to know that you can pull in six figures without stepping foot on campus. how? mr. lee, thanks so much for joining us. let's note how interesting it is to be talking to a ph.d. about how you don't need a college gree to win six figures. but we'll carry on here. listen -- >> i've got to say -- >> go ahead. i>>n 've got to say, when i fit look into these, i was kind of depressed how much time i spent in school and ended up not making nearly this much money. >> we'll see if we can let you be a cautionary tale then.
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what are the odds, first of all? we want to look at a couple of these jobs. what are the odds you could get one ofgh these six thatou highlight if you don't have a college degree? >> so that's a good question. basically what we did is we looked through our data base of millions of people who work. and looking for people who earn a and don't have college degree. these are all jobs where you can go in with a college degree, but generally speaking it's not required, and in fact, it's common not to have a college degree. it's a place yo u can step right in. >> let's show some pele where they can send their resumes. at least according to you. a few of the jobs. one of them is a n evator yochanic. surising to me that you can earn six figures here. and why is that a good avenue of pursuit for a non-college degree job searcher? >> so, in genal there's a class of jobs which are the ones which are kind of skill trades. everyone's familiar with automechanic or plumber, this is an interesting one because the demands of e a high-rise elevat mechanics is kind of a
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complicated mix of electronics, electricity, and mechanics that are -- pays very well. >> and you also list air traffic controller. i'm a little surprised here. let me have you talk about that a little bit. also to kindf include in your answer. if an employer has a choice between a college-educated air traffic controller or one who doesn't have a college degree, wouldn't they naturally gravitate towards the college degree or no? >> it's a very specialized skill. it's not a something you're goi to learn in a class in history or mathematics. so it really is the on-the-job training that makes the critical -- separates the men from the boys or who would be good at the job. and you can't fake it. you can't have classroom knowledge, stand in for the ability to handle t stress and complexity of routing traffic in a major airport. >> so basically a person that would go to -- begin to train as an air traffic controller right out of high school would be a mp start on somebody who went to college, paid all tha money
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for college, and then came in four years later is what you're saying? >> at least an ehequal chance. and that's the key here. it's not necessarily thates college graduates don't go into it. people take a lot of paths to various jobs, it's more of a question of you don't have to get that college degree to qualify to get in. >> and director of security. must be a lot of jobs out there. this must be a booming industry. >> that's a very booming indust. everybody's concerned about that. let's be honest, post 9/11, people are even more concerned. and when it comes dow to it, this is an area where it's understaing people morse than book smarts that gets you, you know, moving up the ladder and understanding how to react to dangerous situations and that kind of, you know, qualifications that are not once again something you can learn in a classroom. >> al lee, direct at payscale.com. thank you so much. hidon't know if we've scared rents or given them something to think abo, buthanks. >> thank you. of course, you can find the entire report onur website. just check out cnnmoney.com.
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>> and there's got to be a joke in there about elevator repairmen going up the ladder in their career. >> go ahead. >> somewhere in there, there is. butatural gas is often haed as theiv clean alternative to oil and gas, but don'tell that to people who can light their water on fire. the story from cnn special investigations. unit. it is 20 minutes past the hour. we could've gone a more traditional route... ... but it wouldn't have been nearly as memorable. ♪ words alone aren't enough. our job is to listen and find ways to help spiworkers who lost their jobs to the spill. i'm iris cross. we'll keep restoring the jobstourist beaches, and businesses impacted by the spill.
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source that comes with a risk. drilling for natural g has been a big business in many parts of the country, but it can have a major impact on those who live near that industry. drew griffin live now with that. and drew, this is a troubling look at this industry d what people who live near this industry have to deal with. >> yeah, jim, absolutely. no doubt we need the gas. the controversy is over how they're getting this natural gas out of the ground in pennsylvania. and whether or not this type of drillinghould be extended to other parts of the northeast. you know, for th people i met in pennsylvania whodold me their ground water is now flammable, the answer rather obvious. >> reporter: the pure artisan well water he and his family have been drinking for nearly 50 years is now full of methane gas. he's sick of telling people about it. so now he's just going to show them.
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>> it's going to blowng it righ out, but i'm going to try it. >> reporter: looks like you scared me. >> you know what, you're really lucky. >> what just happened? >> that's just the gas went down. it comes backnd blow it out these holes. if i pull it up a little bit, it's burn a flame off the top. >> reporter: the gas bubbles through his well. >> you can't see the hose in tua bottom of that because that's all gas. >> and it was at one time cclea? >> clear. crystal clear. >> reporter: it steams off like celtzer. what's causing this? heot says like a lot of people ral eastern pennsylvania he has been fracced. this area is seeing a boom in the natural gas business because of a geological formation known as the marcellus shale. fraccing drills down and then
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sideways into the ck massive shale rock that lies thousands o feet below injecting mostly water and some chemicals, which cause many earthquakes. that fractures the rock, releasing clear, odorless floating gold, natural gas trapped inside the marcellus shale. hundreds of trillions of cubic feet worth. enough to supply the northeast for decades to come. craig and julie say they too a e being fracked. >> i'm going to play a lite devil's advocate with you. that's a little bit why they say they're doing this because this is clean field. >> it's not clean to get. it's a fossil fuel. any fossil fuel, coal, oil, gas is -- they don't see the dirty side. this is the dirty side of natural gas. it's clean to burn, but it's not clean to get. >> reporter: like bill, their well is poisoned. and it's forcing the gas
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exploration company to truck in clean drinking water. though cabot denies the process of fracturing has contaminated anything. and they cite aun 2004 study th found only a minimal threat to underground drinking water and told cnn, we don't believe the process is contaminating the ground water. as a technology, it's proven and safe. >> we don't know -- >> reporter: they and other homeowners don't buy that. they are suing. craig wants a clean water pipeline to his home, and he wants to be paid for a house that now has a methane release stack in his front yard. >> to keep it from blowing up, yes. >> reporter: and a neighborhood, he says, that is sometimes fogged in with methane mist. >> will this become a ghost town some day? maybe, right? i sure don't want to live here any more.
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>> they want to warn people in other areas, especially new york state where this hydraulic fractungeybeing proposed. they do admit, jim, they were er suckers. they were paid $2,500 an acre to lease thei mineral rights to bocat gas. they also get royalt which craig says amounts to dollars a week. the moneythey say now wasn't worth the price they were paying. >> and we're hearing more and more stories from homeowners out there going through the statement experience. and it's really worthwhile to see what happens. when this doesn't go right. drew griffin with that really revealing look at this industry this morning. thanks a lot, drew. appriate it. and it is 28 minutes after the hour this morning. time for this morning's top stories. we're waiting for wor on h shourd is a free woman this morning. she is one of three of americans who were captured along the border and thrown into an iranian jail more than a year ago. the other two could stand trial on spying charges. and rescuers in chile are sending 33 miners traed
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underground cigarettes. the men will share two packs a day. the officials had been supplying them with nicotine patches and gum. the miners also received a power line that wilsl allow them to install lights the. and the obama administration is preparing to notify congress of america's largest arms deal ever. reporting the u.s. is offering advance aircraft to saudi arabia that could be worth as much as $60 billion. the deal reportedly involves the sale of 84 f-15 fighter jets and more than 170 helicopters to t e saudis. and it could create up to 75,000 jobs in the u.s. and for eight days now, our newest correspondent has been traveling across pakistan to some of the most remote and dangerous parts of the country. places where even many rescue teams can't or won't go. >> and along the way, he spoke to people about where their hearts and minds lie. with the united states now doing so much to save flood victims even as the military hunts for
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taliban and al qaeda. and he joins us from islamabad this morning. and this has been just a tremendous wee k of reporting that you've brought to us. and we're seeing just a part of the world that if it weren't for this immense tragedy, we really wouldn't see. i guess, you know, there's that -- i guess there's that positive upside to this. reporter: absolutely, jim. well, this weekend is -- was a very critical time here in pakistan. it marked not only the anniversary, the nine-year anniversary 9/11 in the states, a time of remembrance, but it also marked the traditional end of ramadan in pakistan. so at this particular time which could be described as a low point of relations between islam and the west, i was traveling around asking pakistanis how they feel about americans and america. so here's what i found on my journey. so here i am in pakistan.
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for the last week i've been crisscrossing the country as i've been following the aftermath of the devastating floods that took place here. and along the way on my journey, ve been talking to different pakistanis that i meet to get a pulse of how the people of this country are feeling about americans and about america. first stop, i spent the night in a local guest house, and in the kfrn iing, spoke with a couple of the cooks who had made us breakfast. >> translator: america is not pakistan's enemy. if so,hy are they here to help the pakistan people? if u.s. is enemy of islam, why are there mosques being built there? according to miny formaon, there are over 300 mosques in america. >> reporter: the next stop on our journey was about five hours down the road. when our driver wanted to stop for some chi a.in what do you think of americans? >> translator: i think the u.s. is a good country. and the pe ogood.
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if there are drones, it's becatuse there are terrorists. if there are no terrorists, then there will be no need for drones. >> reporter: so after the refill, we decided we had to refill the car. we stopped at a petroil station and chatted about his feelings. >> u.s. is helping people who are affected by the floods. >> but my man over here who pumped our gas feels differently. hes gree. >> translator: the u.s. is attacking muslim countries one after the iother. one day i worry that the u.s. will attack pakistan. >> reporter: mixed reviews. well, we kept pushing south to our next story where we arrived at our luxury accommodations. it's a decent lodge. so we' going to head into the decent lodge and talk to the manager and nd out his opinion about americans. >> translator: pakistanis give americans maximum regard in pakistan. but pakistanis are not treated well in the united states. >> reporter: and american
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policy. how do you feel about american policy? >> american policy --d for kistan. >> reporter: i don't need a translator for that one. >> reporter: final i spoke to dr. yasmin about a story we were doing on a humanitarian group. >> when there is a disaster, it gives us -- but at the same time, throwing bombs on us. if you want to win the hearts of the people, you have to live in the hearts of the people. you cannot throw bomb. >> reporter: hey, what do you think of americans? >> thank you. >> reporter: thank you. road trip pakistan. three provinces, seven days, 500 miles, a well-educated pakistani doctor who had grave suspicions
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about america and a tea maker who had never metre americans before, yet embraced us. kaj, can you tell whether the effort to help in the flo flood -- and as far as i can tell -- the u.s. has been in there more than any other h nation. has that helped changeminds? people say, look, we felt one way, but now we're seeing relief. are they solidified beliefs before and after the flood relief? >> that really is the critical question, candy. the u.s. as you said has gi n more aid than any other international partner. it's a long road to haul here for e u.s. prior to the floods, a survey found that 60% of pakistanis considered america their enemy. so there is a huge swath of resentment against american policy here in the region. and despite all of the best
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efforts to help with the federal reli relief, they have to combat that. rently roger cohen said only a spark separates resentment from uprisi. and that's no more true here triggers e so many that could erupt this again. >> a fascinating look at pakistan. thanks so much. a big test for the tea party tomorrow in delaware's repuican senate primary. an upstart challenger backed by sarah palin may be poised -- or may not be poised -- to topple a titan in the state, even though some republicans claim she's not qualified for the job. it is 35 minutes after the hour.
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welcome back to the e most news in the morning. seems like we've been sing this for a lot of tuesdays in a row, but there's a critical test for the tea party tomorrow.'s delaware's republican nate primary pitting a tea party fa favorite, upstart christine o'donnell against mike castle. >> the question is what we'll be ying wednesday morning. o'donnell has the backing of sarah palin, and she's getting
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lots oficbuzz. but some re publicans insisting she's not qualified for the job. so joining us is john avalon, cnn contributor and columnist for the "daily beast." we're all watching this race. good morning to you. we're wondering if she's going to pull a joe ller, sharo anan angle. >> mike castle, hugely popular, long-serving congressman, could walk into this race, this seat many polls show. christine o'donnell, a much longer shot, but she has the backing of sarah palin, the tea rirty express. it's chris cristy has backed palin. anlde is the social conservative, exactly the kind of republican that voters in the northeast do not reward. these are high stakes and in a low turnout primary, that's when the activists and the extremes
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can really dominate the debate. >> and it is, we should point out, the only republicans can vote inhe this primary, they're closed primaries as we call them. but look, delaware is not alaska, number one. >> that's right. >> and that makes it different, does it not? an -- mike castle ss this coming whereas lisa murkowski who got defeated in alaska didn't see it coming. >> he has the benefit of knowing he has a problem on the ground. and the flip side of delaware not being alaska -- one of theg interesting things for me, if the tea party movement has tol us anything it's a strong libertarian streak. here you have luminaries in the movement and various political figures backing somebody who is primily d alst exclusively a social conservative. that is a tension there that te tea party movement's going to need to reconcile and it has not to date. but this really is about electability versus not. it's not tea party versus kool-aid really.
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>> she leda pro-abstinence group in delaware. but there are questions about both of the candates. christine o'donnell has made that infamous claim that she won two counties against biden in a few years back. but castle h a google problem because they can google up the picture of him holding up that stimulus check, you know, a couple of years back. and i guess the question blans choices theyon't want in this state? >>olls show mike castle -- in a very, what is now very democratic state. what's interesting here, yeah, mike castle has earned the o entity of the tea party folks. he criticized the birthers, he vobited against the stimulus bi, against health care, this is a guy when he was governor succeeding dupont cut income taxes three times and balanced the budget. he would seem to have a lot of credibility on fial issues that shouldlee the tea party
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supporters. why this drift against a flawed candidate in christine o'donnell. it goes deep when you look at the record of controversies .t there's underlying fault lines undeeath the thalgop. and the real stakes is whether you want someone who can win joe biden's seat. >> looking across at some of the tea party-backed candidates.ol in colorado, perhaps in delaware, those now have made them iffy races. what looked like republican wins now look at least a little bit iffy. let's say some of these tea party-backed candidates get into the u.s. senate, i talked a little bit to dick armey about this yesterday. likeow would they -- how was the tea party candidate's mesh inside the republican caucus? because they're to the right. he said he thought that the tea party people were the middle of american politics. >> no. i don't think at's true. i mean, look, tea party movement what we know now is they are
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conservative populoists. they can help bridge gaps with independent voters, but they're going to be -- they want the republican party to be more polarized and that is significant. these are people who many believe the cooperation is collaboration. saying it's going to lead to some new erof the strength of the senate i don't think is credible. they can move the republican party anprep the country towards more conservative policies which would be embraced by many voters in the center. real anger, isa an under blying anger at barack obama that is going to really undercut attempts at conciliation and moving the ball forward not left or right. >> and these tea party candidates, we have to wrap it up, but you can argue have pulled these republican candidates in all of these races to the right. so dick armey's claim that they're going to bring together this new american political center. i don't know if that holds up if you look at what's happened. >> it is a powerful way.
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low turnout, high intensity elections. the tea oparty's been a powerfu ver for epublicans. but it's not credible to say it's about the center. >> the center is always pretty much depends on where you're sitting. >> i still think -- >> appreciate . >> thank you. it is 6:43, almost 6:44. still to come, we are going to beob looking at rob marciano. he's going to have this morning's weather. he's looking at some rricanes, and i think, some fires right after the break. hi, i'm chanelle pickens. i was tired of living in my apartment. decid hey, let's go buy a house! i could go to quickenloans.com and sign all of the paper work i needed to take care of.
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all right. it's 46 minutes after the hour. let's get a quick check of this morning's weather headlines. rob marciano's in the hurricane headquarters. we're moving beyond the extreme weather center and going right to the hurricane headquarters. >> this time of year, you've got to do it. hi, we are lookingt hurricane igor.s igor is the correct pronunciation, but we're having too much fun with the analogy, and sometimes i'm even messing it up. hurricane igor, 150-mile-an-hour winds, went from mild tropical storm the end of last week and exploded over the weekend. look at the size of this thing. and that gorgeous, gorgeous eye, it's about 15 miles wide, looks a little bit large on the satellite picture. but according to the analysis, th miles wide. it's not the biggest hurricane that we've seen. hurricane-force winds only go about 40 miles from the center.
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nonetheless, it is well, well defined and well structured and we don't anticipate any sort of weening, as a matter orefact, it might strengthen tofo a category five srm before this is said and done. before we talk about the track, i do want to touch on what's going on with th. this i s tropical storm julia, obviously not nearly as organized. it's rolling through the cape verde islands and heading off to the west. iglet'talk about the track for hurricane igor. category four storm, could get to five, but we anticipate it to be a major hurricane. right now about 900 miles east of the leeward islands. and we hope that holds true. and if it does, we'll look for it maybe to be curving out to sea before it gets to the u.s. but right now, too far to tell that. pretty quiet weather across much of the united states and dry, comfdetable stuff down to the deep south. little cool front coming down to the -- through dixie to give folks a little taste of fall. we are getting into that time of
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year where cold fronts get all the way down to the gulf of mexico. resouth, it ve d is a welcome breath of fresh air. back up to you. right after we figure out igor, i'm going to have talk you about your pronunciation of frankenstein. all right. jessica simpson got a bad wrap forsporting a pair of mom jeans, remember that? we're gointog find out how she parlayed all that gossip into a s. billion busines who's laughing now? >> wish i thought of that. every patient's past. and because the whole hospital's working together, there's a family who can breathe easy, right now. somewhere in america, we' 've already answered some of the nation's, toughest healthcare questions. and the over 60,000 people of siemens are ready to do it again. siemens. answers.
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yes, they are awake in there. >> yes, they are. and so are we. and jessica simpson is back. i didnri't kw she'd gone anywhere, but all right. she is working on a new christmas album, she has a new denim line in stes, and she is a fashion mogul in the making. >> how about that? simpson's label is popping up on clothes, shoes, and handbags. but does she really have the fashion cred? in this a.m. original, the secrets of a future billion dollar girl. ♪ >> reporter: jessica simpson is an american sweet heart. the girl known for her gas. >> i know it's tuna, but it says chicken by the sea. >> reporter: good looks -- >> y'all ready to order? >> reporter: and turning the tabloids. but jessica simpson is also a mega fashion brand. >> you've got sweaters, shoes,
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jewelry, handbags, hats. did you ever think? >> no -- honestly, th i't even like a dream i had. i played with barbies when i was little and i dressed them up. >> reporter: now she's dressing up real people head to toe. fuhion line named after who else? but herlf. >> she could end up selling food, sling houseware, cars. she's like the next version of martha stewart. >> reporter: before you doubt it, get this, just five years after its launch, the jessica simpson collection has 21 different product categories. everything from butterfly patterned dresses to boots, definitely not made for walking, to perfume, even luggage. with well over $500 million in annual sales. on track to be $1 billion brand by 2012. lucrative theab most thing i do, absolutely. >> it is? >> reporter: so how does she manage it all?
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lots of help from her her m.tive director >> what's most important for you? >> oh, that it's real for jessica. it's real to her. nothing goes through approvals with us that isn't like something that jessica wouldn't be interested in or wouldn't love. >> i like it doesn't have the collar. i think that's cute. >> yeah. that's a great jacket. >> i am definitely a girly girl, so it was fun for me to even put together color palates or like create some pair of jeans that a woman would feel comfortable in. >> reporter: that's d'right. the brand's latest ventureis a full line of jeans. >> she's a curvy fit. and there's a lot of women out there that are looking for a jean that fits a curvy woman. >> reporter: something the tabloids have taunted her about. making light of her weight battles. >> i don't like to read that stuff aboumyseln'f. m yeah, the world doesn't like me! oh, ey think i'm a size 100. >> reporter: but it's this candor, relatability that
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industry insiders say consumers love. >> where do you want togo see ts brand go? five years from now, ten years from now? >> i'm thinking even after i'm gone. i would like for it to be around. >> reporter: you are that all-american girl, aren'you? isn't that -- >> well, ihope so. i hope i'm the all-american girl. i think am. >> i think you are. >> and she certainly is. and that's what sells. you ask people why jessica simpson's clothes, bags, and shoes sell. they will tell you the three cs, cost, credibility, and comfort. her bags start atun $50. simpson tel me incredibly that her shoes are so comfortable that flight attendants come up to her all the time and say, you know what? your shoes are the only b ones can wear because i walk up and down the aisles and they're really, really comfortable. >> they would know. >>hey would know. as for cribility, macy's tells me she's relatable. every time her weiwnght goes up
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and down, she breaks up with a boyfriend. people say i can relate to that. will her collections ever grace the pages of vogue? probably not. but as one person told me, she's laughing to the bank. >> i think what we ought to do, though, is test those shoes on the concrete convention floors. >> i think they can. i was really surprised, you know. i'm a 6-inch platform heelan gi myself, and th were very comfortable. they're very comfortable. >> i have to say as a washingtoi redskins fan, i apprecia te the jessica simpson effect on tony romo. not to bring it to football -- >> now she's dating another nfl player, eric johnson, very much inlove, m she says and maybe she'll start a men's line soon. >> you never know. what a smart business move. >> and she's putting her name on everything, perhaps just like mart stewart down the line. so we'll see. she's a smart gi. >> thanks so much. appreciate it. top stories coming up after
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what the [ bleep ] was that? is that a plane crash? >> we begin with shocking new video this morning. moments after the huge explosion in san bruno. this morning, homeowners return to see what's left of their neighborhood. while questions surrounding the energy company. were warning signs missed? it's monday, september 13th. i'm jim acosta, john roberts has the morning off. >> and i'm candy crowley. we'll have the latest on the california explosion investigatn in a moment. but first here are this morning's top stories. we are on freedom tch this morning. u.s. hiker sarah shourd could be headed home within hours after spending more than a year of her
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life alone in an iranian prison. but wi irake good on its promise? america's longest war is growing more deadly. in fact, 2010 is the deadliest year for cbat troops in afghanistan since fighting began in 2001. and this morning, our jason carroll is back from the front lines with aof firsthand accoun of what our men and women serving in afghanistan are facing. could it be a big break in a big washington standoff? hear why house b minority leade john boehner now says under certain circumstances he will vote with president obama to extend the bush tax cuts for yoerne but the wealthy. meanwhile, new developments this morning in san bruno, d california. that neighborhood that was blown apart by a deadly gas elosion and fire. residents were allowed back in for the first time yesterday. and they're finding their block in ruins. many realizing they have no home to return to ndering if ey'll be able to find anything in one piece. and whether it's safe to be there now. for som the site took them right back to thursday night.
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>> i thought about when i first saw the fire and how scared i was, how happy i waso come back. and how much i wanted to help rebuild the community. >> state regulators ordering a complete inspection of pg & e's natural gas system. they must check miles of pipeline to determin if there are any other leaks. and ted rowlands now with the latest. >> what the [ bleep ] was that? >> reporter: this incredible home video was captured moments after the explosion from a house balcony st behind the blown gas pipe. what is that? is it a plane crash? >> reporter: the voice you hear belongs to walter mccaffrey. one hand on his video camera, the other on his phone telling his wife not to come home with their three childr. this is the view from that deck now. walter and his wife were allowed back sunday afternoon to their house for the first time since
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the explosion. >> just looking at all of this. i saw all this from the news, but being here in the first time coming up here and looking at l this, it was just -- no words. i can't really explain. >> reporter: teams are still sifting through ash, searching for remains of people still listed as missing. as investigators try to learn what caused the explosion, questions have surfaced about the section of pipe that blew. e pg&e document outlining costs sa "the likelihood of a faure makes the risk of a failure at this location unacceptably high." that doesn't mean that pg&e thxpought there was a chance th pipe would explode. t the utility reform network says it's important if reports that residents smelled gas before the explosion are true. >> nobody, pg&e included could've imagined something as
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horrible and terrible as the san bruno blast and fire as happening. but the fact remai that when pg & e got the reports of gas leaks from several customers over several days, they should have realized that this was an area that was old that was at high risk, that they identified as high risk. >> reporter: federal officials leading the investigation are looking into the reports abou the smell of gas in the days before the explosion and how pg & e responded. >> we wou ask anybody who says they smell gas and called it in to let us know. >> reporter: the mccaffreys plan tock when they're sure it's safe to do so. while their home only suffered minor damage, their neighborhood will never be the same. no comment from pg & e on the history of this gas line. they say they can't publicly comment. the ntsb is the lead organization in this, and they say they may not be able to
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determine an exact cause of the explosion for months. >> thanks so much, ted rowlands really scary pictures from out there. freedom coulbe just a few hours away. we are waiting for word from iran this morning that sarah shourd, one of the three americans held prisoner for over a year is out of jail and heading home. but she will have to leave behind her fiance shane bauer and friend josh fattal. and right now it's a matter of money. iranian media is saying the country is waiting for her $500,000 bail to be posted. reza sayah live from pakistan this morning. >> rorter: candy, a lot of eyes on tehran at this hour to see if sarah shourd is going to be released. and if so, when. we spoke to her lawyer about a uple of hours ago. this is also a lawyer who represents the other two u.s. hikers. and he told us that everying is in place for the release to take place. all they're waiting for is the $500,000 in bail money. course, this entire process has been a bit of a debacle by
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iranian officials with a lot of waffling on this matter. last week iranian officials came out and said sarah shourd would be breleased and she wouldn't released. a senior prosecutor came out and said iranian officials are offering to release sarah shourd in exchange for $500,000 in bail money. the hike' lawyer told me heen met with his clients yesterday. it's interesting to note it's the first time he's met with his clients since he was hired to represent them back in december of 2009. candy, he togold me they're in good condition. he says sarah shourd is happy with the news of her e,possible release, but her wish is for all three of them to be releasedre e together. >> reza, why are they releasing her? >> reporter: well, the senior prosecutor who held au news nference on sunday in tehran cited her medical condioltion her lawyer had told us earlier that she was suffing from a
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pre-existing condition. and now a representive for families recently said that she has discovered a lump in her breast. so again, that's what the senior prosecutor is citing as the reason for her release. >> thank you so much. nitoring this for us in pastan. and new this morning, firefighters battling an estimated 6,400 acre wildfire outside of boulder, colorado, are being called to a brush fire to tis north. this one west of loveland, and nearly 700 acres is forcing mandatory evacuations. the officials have ordered a fire ban to prevent it from spreading. the u.s. open men's tennis final between nadal and nokavich will be held at 4:00 p.m. eastern. this is the fourth straight year it's been pushed back to monday. lady gaga ruled the mtv music video awards. the fashion and dance diva took home eight trophies last night including video of the year for
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"bad romance." she didn't disappoint with her choice of outfits, including this one made from wha appears to be cuts of raw meat putting the gag as i like to put it in lady gaga. >> that is disgusting. >> yuck. alsot the vmas, taylor swift addressed last year's incident by singing about it this year. west recently tweeted that the stage-storming stunt crippled his career. and you won't find meat on this guy's head. rob marciano checking weather headlines for us. rob, i uldn't resist. lady gaga setting a fashion trend there. it may be moving to the news world, perhaps, in the not too distant future. >>so that was real raw meat? >> apparently so. we're not sure if it was -- if it was gde a or what, but it was certainly raw meat. >> it was gross. >> certainly disgusting, yes.
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>> paparai and the dogs alike when she left that place.y keep away from her. couple of showers across the northeast today so that the rain -- that rained out the u.s. open will probably be gone, i thk, by the time 4:00 rolls around. dry area everywhere else. real pleasant conditions across the eastern third of the country. all eyes are on igor. this is hurricane now of category four strength. 150-mile-an-hour winds. this thing's a beast. and it's rolling toward the west-northwest. and behind that is julia, we're not terribly concerned with julia. but thisk. is the forecast trac. this i s a teaser as to where w think it's headed. it will eventually make a right turn. when and where and for how long, that's the question. it's still way out there 900 miles to the east of the leeward islands. and this item of concern, much closer to home i the central caribbean has a decent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone in t next 48 hours. that we are watching. probably a little bit more cafully seeing hoclose it is
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to places like florida. jim, candy, up to you. >> and it's pronounced igor, rob. >> t frankenstein. >> that's right. thanks, rob. appreciate it. from the great video file this morning. if lady gaga wasn't enough, check this out. he may be coughing up a pom pom or two. an oakland raiders cheerleader getting a little too close to a hungry, hungry mascot yesterday and became lunch. look at that. i don't think she had any raw meat on her head, but we'll have to check the tape. it's not the first time we've seen this out in the world of sports. last year, look at this -- up in toronto, the toronto raptor gobbled up a dancer. i guess, andy, this is some sort of trend in professional sports. cheerleading-eating mascots. something to be on the lookout for. might want to be careful to the kiddyes when you take them to the next sporting event. >> apparently. >> don't get too close to the
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mascot. from the ridiculous to the really sobering. an eyewitness to war. our jason carroll is back from afghanistan. and this morning, we'll talk to him about the challenges in our men and women serving in the deteadliest war since 2001. it is ten minutes after the hour. [v:tv][c [panting] mark! anna! aah! aah! ha! ah!
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welcome back to the most news in the morning. despite the surge of 30,000 new u.s. troops, a security expert te york times" the country isan more dangerous now than in the past nine yes. in august alone, insurgents in afghanistan launched more than 1,300 attacks, that is 700 more than the same time last year. >> our jason carroll spent three weeks on the line talking to troops. j and jason joins us now back here in new yorkfe safe and sound. thank you very much for bringing all the stories to us. it was terrific to watch. we're going to check in with him in a moment. but first, let's go to barbara
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starr in washington with the latest on the violence against our troops. barbara, you first. good morning, barbara. >> well, good morning, jim and candy. even as the last of those search forces arrive in afghanistan, security is increasingly troubled. and sometimes the numbers do tell the story. the coalition is reporting look at some of these statistics that in august -- just last thmonth, there were more than 4,900 kinetic event. that's an attack, mortars, rockets, small arms, ieds, this is a 7% increase over the month before. july of this year. and it's a 49% increase -- 49% over augt of 2009, the same month last year when there were over 3,200 of these attacks. some indication that the ieds are declining, but still very deadly. and the coalition says it believes one of the reasons for e increase in the numbe of attacks is due to the increased
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number of troops. more operatis especially in the south, and increased insurgent activity, especially before the upcoming parliamentary elections now scheduled for just a few days on september 18th. one of the big concerns, though, is that the violence is spreading to northern afghanistan where the insurgents adedionally have not operated. what is general david petraeus think? well, he'sis offering some of h ow progress90. in the last 90 days, he says ve that they have captured some 235 insurgent leaders captured or killed over 1,600 insurgents overall, the rank and file, and killed over 1,000 insurgents. it sounds an awful lot like a body count. >> thanks so much. our barbara starr monitoring everything fors from washington. those sorts of figures, the increase in the attacks have some long me supporters of this war beginning to question
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how they feel about it. of course, our jason carroll, we want to bring you back in. ack from afghanistan. i want to ask you the question everyone asks when you come back from a place like that. what was it like? >> it was sobering, eye-opening, in some ways eouraging to see the soldiers interacting with the afghan people. that's going toe key if u.s. coalition forces are going to be able to win this war. it was also sobering to see the flip side of that, the attacks that took place while i was there, the loss of life that we, you know, that happened while we were there. so it's going to be a long haul for the soldiers who were there on the ground trying to do what they need to do while they're there. >> and this country that they're fighting in -- we were talking about this a little bit during the break, does it feel like a country? >> i think it would depend upon where you are. where i was, which was in the south, it did not. it just simply felt like a number of villages, simple
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people trying to do what they can. the taban trying to influence those v particular villages. u.s. forces trying to reach out, trying to do what they can. i think -- but in kabul, obviously, which is much more metropolitan, you have a much different feeling. i think it really depends on whereou are. e problem is, as you ow, afghanistan is -- in many ways is me up with type of places where i was. >> very tribal. >> one of the things i thin you get the sense of when you're over there is that it's almost alike deadly game of whack-a-mole. you move in, clear the taliban out, youove some place else, the taliban moves back in. what is the sense you're getting from the troops? what are the troops thinking? >> well, i think the troops are there so focused on the mission at hand. it's difficulto say. because the troops that i was -- that, you know, ith interacted with being bedded with them,
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the basic feeling was that, look, we're here to make up for some lost ground, to get in nge the afghan people. we saw evidence of that when i was there, i saw them getting out there, trying to reach out to village elders. because it's really a war of trying to win over the hearts of the afghan people. if u.s. fors can get in there, right? and win over the hearts of afghan people by providing water -- by providing a well where a well is needed. perhaps, then, those people won't turn to the taliban to do that. that is going to be one way to win this particur war. if you can't do that. if you can't get in there and win the hearts of the afghan people, you're not going to succeed. >> and do they get that sense that they are winnintsg those hearts and minds? do they have that feeling? >> well, it's the beginning for them. the ones i cam in with in some ways, it is the beginning, it is a long haul. we went to something a meeting of village elders, where these elders from all over get to c
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together and voice their concerns. and u.s. forces get a chance to, you know, hear what they have to say. came out of that meeting and there were clearly some elders on both sides of this issue. came out of that meeting and it was a little sheartening for some soldiers to hear the taliban and u.s. forces mentioned in the same sentence in terms of who has done more harm to their community. >> well, jason, thanks for going all the way out there and doing terrific reporting. and we're glad to see you home safe. >> thanks so much. coffee prices are going up. i don't like the sound of that, candy. certainly is not a good development this morning. but growers in vietnam and brazil are planning to give all of us a different kind of jolt in the morning. that's what we call a tease in wthis business. we're waiting. for that. it's 20 minutes after the hour. it's a sale. nothing beats a sale! wrong move! you. you can save up to half off that sale when you name your own price on priceline.
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but this one's a deal...trust me. it's only pretending to be a deal. here, bid $79. got it. wow! you win this time good twin! there's no disguising the real deal. welcome to progressive. nice calculator. i'm just trying to save money my car insurance. ti you know, with progressi, you get the option to name your t price. is that even possible? uh, absolutely. trade? and i still get great service?
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foldger's have hiked a bag of eeans by 10%. and those single serve cups could cost 15% more come october. ifoa you feel cramped in coh now, take a look at these sky rider seats. the italian sidesigner said several u.s. carriers are considering installing them. passengers would have less than 2 feet of leg room. the fare would be cheaper, but airlines, you guessed it, could make more money since the narrow acing would allow them to cram more fliers aboard. >> my back hurts already. a lot of older americans are relocating to college towns to enjoy their retirement years. what makes a city filled with college kids and ideal retirement destination? must be th keggers. at 8:20 eastern, "money" magazine's amanda gengler brings us the top five college retirement towns and what they have to offer. and the city at the top of the list is going to surprise you.
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and oprah's 25 h and final season begins today. she moves to our own network in january.bi microsoft's bill gates and michelle reid just finished ping with oprah. eid you might know had made headlines. and kate bolduan is live in washington. kate, that story dovetails perfectly into this primary race in washington, d.cpeop. tomorro. people don't realize the election in d.c. is always the democratic primary and heavily democratic washington, not the actual election with the republican on the other side of the ticket. and this is a big ra. >> and it's this mayoral democratic primary that everyone's keeping an eye on. why? because many see it as a big case of national education reform efforts. we'll tell you why when american morning returns. [ wind howling ]
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welcome back to the most news in the morning. everyone wants better schos for their kids, right, candy? llwe a do. but when it comes to education reform, toes sometimes get stepped on. >> they do tend to. education one of those hot-button issues. and in washington, d.c., the education reformer mayor adrian fenty is battling for his job. if he loses tomorrow's primary, it might have chilling effect on school reform nationwide. our kate bolduan is live in washington. i was going to say is living in washington, you're doing both, actually. it seems fenty has made a couple
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of enemies along the way trying to upgrade the educational system. >> you're right, candy. and there are other factors, one issue playing a significant role also carries significant national implications. education reform. a little back story. then known as the democratic dynamo, mayor adrian fenty came into office in 2006, quickly took complete control of d.c.'s failing public sool system and handed it over to the new chancellor michelle rhee w then ushered in controversial change, including shutting down two dozen schools, firing hundreds of educators, including more than 100 teachers over the summer r po performance. also overhauling the teacher evaluation system, linking it to student performance. and doing awayth in large part with tenure, putting in its place teacher performance pay. but fenty, once a rising star, well, he's now in the fight for his life. we caught up with hi on the
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campaign trail to ask him about it. >> you asked me whether we would make the decisions we de around education reform -- now knowing everything we did, i say yes. absolute 1ly00 times out of 100. i was elected to do what's best for the city not to do what's politically popular. and the great thing is our schools are better off for it. >> fenty acknowledges -- acknowledged to me that these aggressive reforms have cost him in the polls, but he is unapologetic saying d.c. schools and students he suffered for too long. jim and candy? >> and kate, i guess candy mentioned in the previous hour here on "american morning" is that one reason that fenty is in trouble down i d.c. is because of those big snowstorms. they had trouble clearing the streets down there. but getting back to education reform, is the moral of the story here to big city mayors across the country, if you try to reform your inner city school systems, you may run into
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trouble with your teachers' unions because that's essentially what's happening in d.c. they're going after fenty and want to knock him out. i guess that's the moral of the story. >> that is te fear. and the teachers unions say they want to help the schools too. they say this is too much, too fast, and too harsh. the reforms in d.c. schools ruffling many feathers along the way. and this is why it matters nationally. they are exactly what the obama administration is calling for nationwide. these types of very kind of aggressive and innovative reforms. and the administraon is putting up some serious cash to prove it. they're not just talking about it, offering more than $3 billion in competitive grants for innovative reformfforts just like wc.hat's going on in d.c. and in the most recent polls, fenty is neck and neck or losing to his challenger vincent gray. voters count education as a chief concern heading into the polls,us leaving, as you just mentioned, jim, if this race could create a chilling effect on national education reform
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efforts. simply the fear that politicians see these reform effortsked by the obama administration as just too risky to take on. >> all rht. kate, we'll be watching down in d.c. thanks so much. appreciate it. it is almost 7:32, and that means, of course, time for this morning's top stories. bl sifting through the rubbl in san bruno, california, victims of the devastating gas explosion and fires were allowed back into their neighborhood for the first time yesterday. four people are37 confirmed dea 37 homes destroyed. and now pg&e has been ordered to inspect all the gas lines in the state.> port-au-prince doesn't look much different. the associated press reports only 2% of e rubble has been picked up, no one's really in charge of the government. so there's no one to manage the cleanup. recoveryeams say it's difficult for heavy equipment to navigate all the debris and few places to put it. and officials in chile now lowering cigarettes to the group of 33 trapped miners. they'll have two packs a day to
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split between them. they sent down nicotine patches and gum until thto could improve ventilation to the mine. nasa scientists at the scene reportedly advised against allowing the miners to smoke. and over the past week, our newestre corspondent kaj karsen bringing us stories from the devastating floods there. places where many rescue teams can't or won't go. and along the way, spoke to the people about whe their hearts and minds lie. and kaj joins us live from islamabad this morning. and kaj, we've been saying all morning that oodespite these devastating floods down there, we are getting to see some parts istan that perhaps we hadn't really seenefore and hadn't ry and you're getting to talk to people about what they think of the united states, which is also important. >> repor yr:lyeah. absolutely, jim. we've tried to push out as far as we can and talk to a variety of people. earlier in the show, you had jason carroll talking about the
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strategic importance of winning hearts and minds in afghanistan. it's arguably equally important to win hearts and minds here in pakistan. so as i traveled around the country covering the floods, i took a barometer of what pakistani people are feeling about americans. here's what i found. here i am in pakistan. and for the last week, i've been crisscrossing the country as i've been following the aftermatof the devasng floods that took place here. and along the way on my journey, i've been talking to different pakistanis that i meet to get a puls of how the people in this country are feeling about americans and about america. first stop, i spent the night in a local guest house. and in the morning, i spoke with a couple of the cooks who had made us breakfast. >> translator: america's n pakistan's enemy. if so, why are they here to help the pakistan people? if u.s. is the enemy of whislam why are there mosques being
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built there? according to my information, there's over 300 moues in america. >> the next stop on our journey was about five hours down the road when our driver wanted to stop for some tea. what do you think of americans? >> translator: e think the u.s. is a good recountry. and the people of the u.s. are good. if there are drones, it's because there are terorists. if there are no terrorists, then there will be no need for drones. >> reporter: so after the refi, we decided we had to refill the r. we stopped at a station and chatted with the cashier about his . eelings. >> translator: the u.s. is helping people who are affected by the floods. >> reporter: but my man over here feels diffently. agree. not >> translator: the u.s. is attacking muslim countries one after the other. one day i worry the u.s. will attack pakistan. >> reporter: mixed reviews. well, we kept pushing south to our next story where we arrived
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at our luxury accommodations. the decent lodge. we're going to head into the decent lodge and talk to the manager and find out his opinion about americans. >> translator: pakistanisive m americans maximum regard in pakistan, but pakistanis are not treated well in the united stes. >> reporter: and american policy? how do you feel about american policy? >> american policy, pakistan -- not good for pakistan. >> reporter: i don't need a translator for that one. finally i spoke with dr. yasmin who i met on a story we were doing about a humanitarian group. it hen there is a disaster, gives us -- but at the same time, throwing bombs on us. if you want to win the hearts of the people, you have to live in the hearts of the people.
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you cannot throw bomb and say good luck.or >> reporter: hey, what do you think of americans? >> thank you. >> reporter: roadrip pakistan, three provinces, seven days, 500 miles, two polarities that speak volumes about this country. a well-educated pakistani doctor who had grave suspicions about america. and a teda maker who had never met americans before, yet embraced us. >> and kaj larsen joins us live from pakistan. and i have to say, in all of our travels, we stayed in some decent lodges, i have to ask, was it decent? >> reporter: it was quite decent. that was a no thrills advertising campaign and the guest lodge reflected it. >> and i guess, you know, one of the things that struck me when i was watching that piece, kaj, is
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just how pleasant the people of pakistan were towards you. was th the case every time you stopped somebody on the street and asked them about the united states? or did you find thet five people for that piece there?ve >> reporter: everybody answered our questions quite respectfully. the sentiment that was expressed was mixed, of course. the united states faces a very precarious challenge on the ground here in afghanistan. it's a balancing act. they are getting some positive feedback for providing helpwith the aid and with the flood relief, but at the same time, they have to balance that with the very sensitive issue of american boots on the ground here in pakistan. so what we found on ouxejourne y was a mixed bag. and i think that's pretty representative ofha t the pakistani population is feeling. >> all right. kaj larsen, thanks, areciate it. from international politics to domestic politics. and house nority leader john
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a>> this morning, talk of a compromise over the bush era tax cuts that expire at the end of the year. house minority leader john boehner says he may side with democrats on their tax plan, but only if there's noetter option. here to talk about it, cnn's senior political analyst and republican stragist ed rolands. the white house poo painted this as, oh, thanks, really great to by john conversion boehner. i'm thinking there's a method to this. and it may be boehner may be
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taking the political edge away from the democrats. >> well, i think, first of all, the big issue is democrats. is there enough democrats to pass this? and obviously there's a lot of moderates in real serious varaco conservatives, who don't want this. they basically want the tax extension for everyone. boehner may have been upfront. i think boehner has to be careful, because there's a lot of republicans who misinterpreted this and will be very unhappy with him at this time. >> cornell, let me bring you in because it seems to me what we saw from friday's news conference from the president and then yesterday from various white use offials including austin goolsbee, th head of the advisers, including david axelrod saying, if the republicans want to hold middle class tax cuts hostage for their rich friends, wel, i guess that's their choice. eh comes out and goes, well, i'll vote for middle class tax hike ift's my only choice.
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doesn't that kind of take away the whole republicans are for the rich argument? the democrats hoped to play out during this debate? >> no, i think it's important to understand that historically we have been taking a beating o taxes. we got them to compromise on taxes. we were getting the upper hand with them holding the middle class tax cutsos hostage. so i think this is a win for democrats. in a certain way we're going to take the tax issue off the front burner. and as my good friend ed knows, any time democrats can lessen the tax issue going into an election, it's a plus fo us. >> well, you've still got a bunch of democrats running in tough races who basically don't think you've taken the issue away. and don't think democts can on one v vote erase their long history of raising taxes on working people. >> and can republicans still make hay out of the fact that it is -- that the democrats are going to say we don't want to
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extend these tax cuts for those couples making $250,000 and over? isn't that a fairly potent argumes?nt in tough political times? >> well, look, here's the choice. it is a choice between sort of republicans who want to give tax cuts to the rich and continue down with the bush polics that got us into this mess or be focusedho want to and give it to the middle class and try to build america's middle cla back in. that's the choice we want to make. we're making these choicesll across the country, making them in congressional races, senate races. and now we have a national sort of narrative sort of push this choice. you have a choice between boehner and these republicans who want to continue these tax cuts for the rich or democrats who want to give tax cuts to the middle class who need it. >> it's not an either or, not tax cuts for the rich and middle class, everybody got their taxes reduced. anonce you raise one group, you're going to raise others. there's not enough tax revenue according to the democrat plans. >> let me button up the issue -- >> push back on that because that's not true.
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look, ed, the wealthy have done really good under the bush years and did get their taxes cut significantly. if you want to help build the american economy, you've got to help the american middle class and that's what the democrats are trying to do. you can't look over what the republicans have done on taxes teer the last couple of years and say that's benefitted the american middle class. and where americans really got benefitted was under the stimulus plawhere the taxes got cut. america's now paying some of the lowest taxes they've paid historically. that's not me spinning, that's the truth. ut cornell, let me button this up with a broader political question. boehner also went out of his way to say, look, i think it's a tough taclimfor republicans to take over in the house. do you think it's a tough climb? >> talk about lowering expectations. look, they are -- look, the win wind's at their back. i think historically they're supposed to win some sea. the wind isei certainly at thei back and history says they're going to pick up seats.
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i think the sort of tea party insurrection has really harmed them in the long run, especially on theenate side where you look at some of the republicans' p choices to take on democrats have been basically taken out by fringe elements of the tea party. when we look back at this cycle and the chance that republicans had, i think a lot of us are going to say was a tea party a plus or negative for the republicans? and i think looking at it now i've got to say it's a negative. >> ed, i've got to give you one word here. yes or no as john boehner as the next speaker of b the house? >> boehner is the next speaker of the house. >> predictions from e rolands. on the freedom watch, sarah shourd could be leaving iran today. a reunion with her family may be only hoursre away after more th a year in solitary confinement. the latest on her release and the fate of the two hikers she will leave behind.er 46 minutes after the hour. ectins help kill the germs that can live on surfaces for up to 48 hours.
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good morning again. this is the peak of hurricane season. and we have three disturbances at the very least that we're watching and one major storm. this is julia, the tropical the coast off africa affecting the cape verde islands. it's just 40-mile-an-hour winds. but this thing, this is hurricane igor with winds of 150 miles an hour, category four storm on the brink of becoming a eycategory five storm. look at that eye, how distinct it is. the structure. it is barrelling to the west d could become a category five
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storm before the day is done. the forecast track for the national hurricane center brings it continued further to the west, continued strong, and cuing towards bermuda and off the east coast of the united states. but that would be well over a week away. dangerous stm there. we hope it doesn't get any closer than this disturbance, much closer to the u.s., that has the potential of becoming something, too. we he a couple showers across the northeast today. fairly quiet compared to yesterday. a front rolling down all the way to the deep south and creating dry conditions as far as low humidity. also comfortably cool conditions in other aspects of the country. mild across the northern tier. a quick check on weather. my hair is falling out. how did this happen? how did this happen? a little pain in my knee. that's how it started. that's how it started, this rash on my face. now it's like my body is attacking me.
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i want answers. announcer: when you don't have the right answers, it may be time to ask your doctor the right question. could i have lupus? concierge claim centers. so i can just drop off my car and you'll take care of everything? yep, even the rental. what if i'm stuck at the office? if you can't come to us, we'll come to you in one of our immediate response vehicles! what if mother won't let me drive?
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>>welcome back to the most ws in the morning. it is 7:53. stories about your health. a simple blood test may be a strong indicator of a man's risk for developing prostate cancer according to a newam study from the american cancer soxt whether men should get the test is up for debate. elizabeth coen is with us this morning. i would think this would be a sure thing if the test is bein
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offered, why not have it? how does this screening work? >> jim, you know what, prostate cancer is different from other cancers. here's why. if you get screened for prostatd cancer your doctor may find something that is very small and slow growing and likely will never kill you. but you and your doctor may feel compelled to treat it and that treatment could cause you to be incontinent and impotent, something no man wants. it's tricky whether to go down all.roadat what some h doctors have done i an initial screening of a man at 55 and takhe a look at the psa level. what this study out ofke europe found is if you take about 25,000 men with a low psa level, if you rescreen them, in other words, if you scrn them again later in life, you will save one of their lives. just one of their lives. and you will probably cause many, many more of them to have problems likein being incontine and impotent.
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worth it on is, is it to screen a man twice if he seems to be okay the fie rst ti because you'll save one life out of 25,000 but you will also upset other lives in the process. so it's a tough decision. >> right. if you have a low psa should you get screened again? >> exactly. that's the bottom line. that is sovmething that every mn will have to talk to his doctor about. everybody s a different tolerance for risk. everybody will look at these i differently. i wrote a whole column about this because it really is a dilemma. if y go to my twitter page you'll see a link to that column. i hopet really helps men make that decision with their doctors. it's not an easy one. >> this is new on me. i have not heard about this psa test. if they get that checked is that okay? if some men never do it, is that okay? >> some men choose never to get a psa test t. chief medical officer of the american cancer society told me that he doesn't
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get psae testing, he doesn't fel it's worth it so it's ati valid option. i know it sounds weird, wow, there is a cancer test, i want it. in this case you might not want it, that is a valid option. >> well, elizabeth cohen, for moreal information about your health and your family pick up a copy of elizabeth's book, "the empowered patient." a good one to pick up. lots of great advice in there. thanks. >> t stories coming your way in two minutes. t hey, lawrence, my parents want to talk to you.
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-- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com >> good morning. it's monday, september 13th. i'm jim accoosta in. good to see you, candy. >> i'm in for kiren. nice to be with you. there is lots to talk about. let'get to. returning to the ruins in san bruno, california. victims going back in their neighborhood after last week's deadly gas explosion and fires, taken moments after that huge explosion.
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>> california regulators ordering pg&e to inspect its gas lines. >> hurricane igor is a category four storm and continuing to gain rength. rob will have new information whether the east coast could be in line for a direct hit. >> and we are also on freed watch this morning. u.s. hiker sarah shourd could head home in hours after more than a year in an iranian prison. >> and of course the am fix blog is up. lots to talk about. go to cnn.com/amfix. >> new developments i in the neighborhood decimad by a deadly gas explosion and fires in california. residents in san bruno returning home for the first time and they are finding their block in >> regulors are ordering a ruins.
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complete inspection of gas system. an incredible home video has surfaced showing the moments just after the explosion. take a look. >> this incredible home video was captured moments after the explosion from a house balcony behind the blown gas pipe. the voice you hear belongs to walter, he had one hand on his video camera, the other on his phone telling his wife not to come home with their three children. this is the view from that deck now, walter and his wife were allowed back sunday afternoon to their house for the first time since the explosion. >> just looking at all this. i mean, i saw all of this from ae news but being here and the first time coming up here and looking at all of this, it was just -- no words.
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i can't really explain. >> teams are sifting through ash, searching for remas of people still listed as missing. as investigators try to learn what caused the explosion, questions have surfaced ipabout the section of pipe that blew, a pg&e document outlining costs to replace the pipe says, quote, the likelihood of a failure makes the risk of a failure that the location unacceptably high. that doesn't mean that pg&e thought there was a chance it could explode. but the director of the consumer watchdog grout'p says it's important if reports that residents smelled gas before the explosion are true. >> nobody, pg&e included could have imagined something as horrible and terrible as the san bruno blast and fire as happening. but the fact remains that when pg&e got the report ofas leaks from several customers over
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several days, they should have realized tahat this was an area that was old, that wast high risk that they identified as high risk. >> federal officials leading the investigation are looking into the reports about the smell of gas in the days before the explosion, and how pg&e responded. >> we would ask anybody whoays that they smell gas and called it in to let us know. >> they plan to move back wheni they are sure it's safe to do so. while their home suffered minor damage their neighborhood will never be the same. no comment from pg and e on th history of this gas line because it's an ongoing investigation they can't publicly comment. the ntsb is the lead organization in this, they say ehey may not be able to determine an exact cause of the explosion for months. jim, candy. >> thanks, ted. imam faisal abdul-rauf says sarah palin and politicians like her, he says, are t blame f
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the growing islam phobia. he calls palin's protest disingenuous and her opposition motivated.ally motivate we're waiting for the imam's speech coming up later this morning. that was the president of the council on foreign relations richard hass. it looks like the imam is getting read the address that audience there. we'll be monitoring thatnd getting back to you on that.mi a programming notd, catch donald trump tonight on "larry king" live, the donald has offered to buy the site near ground zero where the islamic center might be built. he will tell us why at 9:00 eastern. >> homeland security janet napolitano says americans will never be immune from threats. the secretary appeared yesterday on cnn's state of the union, after 9/11 she told me there is no guarantee we won't be
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attacked again. >> the united states, we're not immune and we do see u.s. persons who, for whatever reason have been radicalized to the point of violence, maybe violence in the name of islam. and you know, they travel to the fatah, they learn the craft, they come back and that is something that is relatively new in kind of the known threat stream we've been dealin with. but it's not unique. nor was it unanticipated, really, that could occur. >> secretary napolitano says america is safer but the risk of attack can never be eliminated. >> and rob marciano is in the extreme weather center. rob's looking at a lot of stuff happening in the tropics this morning. potentiay another tropical system may be in the worksan besides hurricane igor. rob's going to talk about that and everyt ehing lse that's popping up out there. hopefully this morning. how's it going out there?
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s>> we've got igor which is out the, hurricane category four status. and we also have julia which is over my right shoulder, that's a tropical storm at ou 40-mile-an-hour winds. both of them are way out there. but igor is terrifyingly strong and expected t be strong. that's the one storm that we're most concerned about and then this other area which is closer to home in the central cabbean, because it's so close, we're a little more worried about this one because if it does develop in the next day or two and ts orange boxe indicates the national hurricane center thinks that has a chance, it could be in the gulf of mexico within a couple of days. so we're in prime time hurricane season and mother nature not disappointing. meantime, a couple of fronts rolling across the eastern coast this weekend to provide some action and pleasant weather. we'll talk more about that later on in the program. guys. rob.hank you, appreciate it. we have a follow-up on a story that candy has been watching closely. that's right. it sounds like taylor swift has
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forgiven kanye west at last awyear's music awards. last night that the year's vma swift took to the stage to premier her new song "innocent.o ♪ you'll have new septembers >> swift went on to singst 32 i still growing up. soundsov there. >> swift wasn't the only one to keep the past alive. indsay lohanoked fun at her own struggles with the host. >> hey, lindsay. >> have you been drinking? >> no. >> really? why is your ankle bracelet going off? >> that just means my table's ready at the cheesecake factory. >> wake up. pull it together. you're a mess. you think anyone wants to work with a drunk? take it from me, they don't.
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>> okay. okay. you turn yourd life around. maybe i can, too. >> that's the spirit, kid. now go get t 'em. >> thanks, freckles. >> inspiring stuff. >> i'm not sure how i feel about that. is that the beginning of -- >> you're not the only one. >> stay tuned. >> anddy la gaga ruled the mtv video awards. must we talk more about the vmas yes. she took home for bad h romance and also hair of the year. gaga did not disappoint with her outfits. check outthe new do. yes, that wouldpo be about a pod of ground chuck on her hairline there. not exactly sure why she went with that hair style. putting the gagin lady gaga you might say. if you don'tmind me saying. >> i can't tell if that's real meat or not. >> we hope it's not.
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>> ick. on a serious note, maybe a hopeful one. iran may be getting ready to ee one of the three arican hikers that are being helds spies. they are ading $500,000 bail but th question is whether iran will make good on iorts wd. ot just a warran. guae everythinge do it's beln it's a yea 50 milpromise.
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welcome back to the most news in the mornin freedom could be a few hours away, we hope so, waiting for word from iran that sarah shourd, one of the three americans held prisoner for a year is out of jail and heading home. >> right now it appears to be a matter of money. this morning iranian media is saying the country is waiting for her half million dollar bail. reza sayah isn monitoring the situation from pakistan. reza,re there new developments? >> reporter: no new developments candy. pont, we spoke to the lawyer representing sarah shourd several times over the past few hours, also the lawyer representing the other two hikers. he tells us that sarah shourd is still in iranian custody because the half million dollars in bail money has yet to be posted t. lawyer says he's in contact with officials at the swiss embassy in tehran and at the prosecutor's office and they are basicallywaiting for that money to be posted.
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contacts in washington do not have diplomatic relations, it's the swiss embassy that's goingo to play the role ofma mediator this matter. this whole thing has been a bizarre case over the past few days with all of the waffling by iranian officials, initially they said last week that sarah shourd would be released, then wouldn't. yesterday a senior prosecutor came out again and said she can be released in exchaonnge for hf a million dollars in bail money. the lawyer has told us he met with them yesterday, they are all doing well. sarah shourd is happy with the possibility of her release but her reference is for allhree to be released. >> and reza, a follow-up question. are we actually talking about the iranians demanding money for her release? thean iranian government? that just sounds very strange. how long can this go on? it sounds like this must be agonizing for her family. >> repter: no question about it. this has to be a difficult
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process for her family. according to the lawyer that we spoke with yesterday, he said it could take place by today. it's lookingth more and more the is a possibility it's not going the happen today. he said if it doesn't happen today it could happen in the next couple of days. chnically this is bail money accordg to the judiciary. $500,000 collateral, insurance that she's going to come back and face trial. but in all likelihood, she will pay this money and she's going to leave iran and never come back to iran. foreign nationals arrested by iranian officials faced the same situation. the canadian iranian journalist last year, he posted bail, he left, he was convicted and sentenced in absentia. it's likely that sarah is going toacehe same scenario. >> nobody would blame her. reza sayah joining us live.
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♪ welcome back to the most news in the morning. 8:17. time for "minding your business." everyone retires to florida, right? not the case. many retire es are looking for r more interesting places and cnn and money magazine focus on the best places to retire. joining us is amanda. you're talking about colleget towns the best college towns to retire in. i should note that this id s noa bad college town to rire in. harrisonburg, virginia, home of james madison university which beat virginia tech this weekend not that we're taking notice of that or i am. thanks for joining us, amanda. i wanted to ask you, in trms ofs these college towns, you picked the best college towns to retire in. how did you arrive at othis?
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there are lots of llege towns. >> sure. these coege towns have the traditional traits that retirees yook for, low taxes, affordable housing, good health care. on top of that each local college or university has a specific program that allows retirees to go back to school, to take courses in everything from the arts, language, literature, history. so seniors love these. they are using the courses to fill in the gaps from their education, from their undergraduate years. >> more than being on the golf course. >> exactly. you can't golf every y. >> as candy put it lots of keggers. let's get to the top five. starting at number five, let's put that on screen, bellingham, washington, 80,000, home of western washington university. why there? >> well, this is a vibrant city that's tuck between vancouver and seattle. so you have access to otr major metro areas which is nice, it provides an international airport. yet the area has its own
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distinct feel. there's a vibrant downtown harbor scene. ls a huge number of retirees here, that's probably partly to do with the state has no income tax. >> that is a big plus for retirees. let's look at number four. a lot of these surprised us. this one i have to tell you, retiring in arizona does sound pretty nice. prescott, arizona, population 40,000. help me with the pronunciation of this college. >> yavapai college. >> what's neat it's an hour north of phoenix. you're at an elevation about 5,000 feet so you actually get four distinct seasons and another plus today is that it used to be a little pricey but housing prices are down 35%. exactly. >> and gorgeous scenery.gh you can't get enough of the desert. number three, becausehis one also i think surprised me a little bit. lexington, kentucky, population
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290,000. why? i've been there. it's a cute town. a lot of charm. >> lexington is nice because it has the regular program where seniors can take courses with other seniors, yet it has something unusual where seniors can take courses with the undergraduate students if there is space available. if the course isn't full. when it comes to the area downtown lexington is vibrant, there is plenty to do,ozens of restaurants and yocan drive through the horse countryside. >> i can hear all of the sec sport fans. send your letrs to amanda. no. number two, this oneth i think s the most surprising one. hanover, new hampshire. home of dartmouth but also ve cold. >> this was one of my favorites because it's a unique blend of rural new england. >> it's a beautiful town. >> a picturesque village, yet it has intellectual and cultural activities. >> this is an intellectual
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choice. >> theat beautbe the natural beauty, also the brarains. there are art museums, opera, ballets, so you have plenty of options. you either embrace the cold and go skiing, hiking,or you escape south. >> i won't be there. a nice try. number one, is there a drumn' roll? i don't think there is. durham, north carol 220, duke university is there. that's a no-brainer. >> durham along with chapel hill and rawly. >> the research triangle. >>ight. air retiree mecca even without duke's live long learning f programs. it's one of the oldest. there are 100 course, 1500 members in it. on top of that you do get all four seasons yet milder versions. you' not going to have frigid new england winters there. >> amanda, the blue ridgeel mountains are also lovely this time of year in virginia.so rrisonburg, also a nice place to retire, has an up a nd comin
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football team. you may want to put that on the list. think about that. >> plenty of athletic events at all of these colleges, too. >> to find the best story on the pl caces to retire, check out c money.com and check out the list there. there are surprising finds there and you might want to check them out and consider them for your rerement. candy. >> thanks, jim. we all watched last week as the plans by an obscure pastor in florida to burn the koran sparked international demonstrations. demonstrations of that koran burning plan which never took place turned deadly in afghanistan. it cause americans to wonder how deep and how wide is thaf resentment of the u.s. coming up, the deputy international editor for time magazine.
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♪ we'll have our to stories here in just a couple of minutes. first an a.m. original. only on "american morning." jessica simpson is back working on a christmas bum. >> some of us wonder where did f she go? but if you have been living on the moon you might not know she has been a fashnma mogul in the making lately, her label quicy becoming coveted by fashionistas. does the have the fashion street cred? you spent time withsont jessica
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simpson recently. you have the answer to this question. >> listen. will her collections grace the pages of "vogue"? probably not. does she care? probably not. jessica simpson has been called a lot of things but fashion mogul, generally not one of. them simpson is aashion mogul and a future billion dollar girl. ♪ no onee jessica simpson is an american sweetheart, the girl known for her gaffes. but it says sa tuna chicken by the sea. >> good looks. >> you all ready to order? >> and turning the tabloids. but jessica simpson is also a mega fashion brand. >> you've got sweaters, shoes, jewelry, hand bag, hats. did yoever think? >> no. honestly, this isn't even like a dream i had. i played with barbies and i like
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to dress them up. >> now she's r dressing up real people head to toe. a full fashion line named after, who else, but ldherself. >> she could end up selli food, selling housewares, she could sell cars. she's like the next version of rtha stewart. >> before you doubt it, get this. just five years after its launch the jessicaso simpson collectio has 21 different product categori everything from butterfly pattern dresses to boots, definitely not made for walking to perfume, even luggage. with over $500 million in annual sales. on track to be $1 billion brand by 2012. >> it's the most lucrative thing i do. >> how does she manage it all? lots of help from her co-creative director, her mom. >> what's most important for you? >> that it's real for jessica. it's real to her.
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nothing goes through approval with us that isn't like something that jessica wouldn't be interested in. >>e i like that doesn't have t collar. >> that's a great jacket. >> i'm a girly girl so it was fun for me to like even put together color palettes or like create some pair of jeans that a woman would fee comfortable in. >> that's right. the latest venture is a full line of jeans. >> she's a curvy a fit. there's a lot of women that are looking for a jean that fit as curvy woman. >> something the tabloids taunted her about. her weight battles. >> i d't like to read that stuff. yeah, the world doesn't like me. they think i'm a size 100. >> but it's this relateability that industry insiders say consumers love. >> where do you want to see this brand go? five years from now, ten years from now. >> i'm thinking even after i'm gone iould like for it to be
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around. >> you are that all-american girl, aren't you. >> well, i hope so. i hope i'm the all-american girl. i think i am. >> i think you are. ♪ i think i'm in love >> she is. if you ask people why jessica simpson's clothes, bags and shoes sell. cost, comfort and credibily. her shoes and bags start at under $50. her shoes are so comfortable that flight attendants approach her and say these are the only shoes can wear waing up and down the aisles all day. what fashion stylists anday experts will say is that she is relatable but also glamorous. so every time she has a weight battle, breaks up, we say ie been through that so she is relatable. she is also glamorous so we aspire to be her and her clothes are inspiring to a lot of teens out there and people all the way into their 40s, 50s and 60s. >> she is going to afford a lot
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of chicken of the sea. >> hey, you know what, you people laugh but you got to give her credit. i mean, shs got her name on a lot of products and her business is worth nearly $1 billion. she's laughing all the way to the bank. >> absolutely. >> i wish o i was. my own clothing line coming out. >> thanks. great stuff. >>as a newit fashion favorite i something you wear. guilt group is an online site that offers sales on the popular items, it's addictive to designers and shoppers alike.ll alina tells u about fashion's next frontier on tomorrow's show. should be interesting. it is 8:31. time for this morning's top stories. returning to ruins in san bruno, california for the first time since the deadly gas explosion and fires, victims are going back into their neighborhoods and finding there is little left. plus, some really startling new video taken moments after that huge explosion.
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>> california regulators have ordered pg&e to inspect all of its natural gas lines in the state. >> waiting for word from iran. the american hiker sarah shourd is a feree woman.f she is one of three captured and thrown into an iranian jail. the other two could still stand trial on spying chargings. >>re rescuers in chile are sendg the 33 miners trapped one of the things they crave the most -- cigarettes. the men will share two pack a day. officials had been supplying them with nicotine patches and gum. they also received a power li that will let them install lights. >> on to afghanistan. deite the surge of 30,000 new u.s. troops a security expert tells e new york times the country is more dangerous now
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than in the past nine years. in august insurgents launched 1300 attacks, 700 more than during the same time last year. >> our jason carroll spent about three weeks on the front lines talking to troops, seeing the dangerous conditions first-hand. jason joining us live in new york. does it feel -- it's got to feel, obviously it feels dangerous ongr the ground. what does it feel like to the troops? >> i thinklior them itlefeels like a little bit of russian rue lext when you head out an a combat patrol or to meet local villagers you never quite know when this is going to be the moment when you hit an ied which is an improvised expsive device. most people when they think of war, they think of two sides sort of lining up and firing at each other. that's not the way this war is being fought becauseli obviousl the taliban and therg insurgent they can't match the coalition forces' fire power. what they do is plant these
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bombs ang roadsides, so when u.s. forces go out and try to interact with the afghan people they get h with these roadside bombs and then attacked. so, i think that's really how it is whenever forces go out. it's just a matter of is this my time, is this the time when it will happen to me. >> you know, one of the things i think we spend soin much time n being in danger back here saying oh, is thits worth it, is it worth it. then when you get over there, get the sense from you, that that's really not on their agenda. their agenda is doing their job and staying alive. really is. basic and simple. getting out doing what you're supposed to do and a real sense of especially those who have been on multiple deployments like the soldier we're following, randy shorter. he has been to the area before, southern afghanistan. he wants to complete the mission. and that's the real sense that guys, a very these tight bond they have. they want to get in there, and complete the task that they have
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been reqred to do. >> jason carroll, well, welcome home. i know you want to go back but good to see you. >> good to see you. thanks. demonstrations against that florida church's koran burning planad that turned deadly inta afghanistan this weekend. who are these protesters? were they moderat or extremists? bobby ghosh for "time" breaks it down for us. i'm ahmed mady and i'm a homebuilder. my father brought me up to give ckba to society... felicia jackson promised her late sister that she would take care of her children.
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welcome back to the most news in the morning. florida pastor terry jones called off his koran burning ceremony this weekend but some would argue the damage was done. >> we have seen worldwide otest this is weekend from england to pakistan, two demonstrators were killed in afghanistan, so is there any way to tamp down all of the anger that has built out there? bobby ghosh deputy international director for "time" magazine is with us this morning. i talkedhis weekend to homeland securit secretary janet napolitano. and said you know, we look at it here, many of us, say okay, there is this obscure preacher
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in florida who threatens to burn the koran and suddenlit becomes the source of street protests. is it not understood that there's 315 million people in the united states and not all burning korans. i want you to listen to her answer. >> it goes across the internet and acrosshe globe as an accelerant. they don't appreciate we're a country with freedom of expression, this is one small minister we all disagree with on a values basis but it gets interpreted differently. >> first, do you agree, and is there any way to combat the idea that this is america, this is how we are over here? >> well, look at it in context. if reverend jones said this six months ago, a year ago it might not have gotten attention. this is at a time of when we had other indications of a rising islamn phobia. so in this context people are looking at the united states
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around the world and they see this preacher stand up and say he's going to burn the kor. it's also important, it doesn't mat here it is, burning the koran, the koran is devine. if you're a believing muslim it's not just a holy ook, it's directly the woifrd of god. if you took the cheapest koran in the markeent and threatened set it fire that would be to a devout muslim, not extremis that would be tantamounto say for a catholic saying you ar gog to burn down the sistine chapel. it's the word akof god. people take it seriously. >> sure. man t was one man or one and his small following that was threatening to do this. it seemed as though it was taken as the protests were anti-u.s. >> the protests were anti-u.s. and it was part of other protests, afghanistan we've ant seen, also anti-afghan government, protesting against corruption, against the american military presence. this is not being taken i
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isolation. this is happening in the context of unhappiness a in afghanistan over the american military presence, over how corrupt their government s. a lot of these are in front of afghan government offices. not in front of american embassy or the american military bases, in front of the afghan police station, afghan government office. those people are protesting several things. they are also protesting whathi they think is sort ofacler sacr against their religion but also a bunch of other things and clear i in a couple of case ths is got out of hand, a couple of people are dead and that is tragic. >> and this could have been much woe, correct, if the pastor had gone through with his plans, i mean, this could have touched off these sorts of demonstrations all over the world. >> absolutely. the potential for angry, much angrier protests was erenormous. if there were video images of this man actually burning the koran it would be terrible.
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but a genie has been let out of the bottle here and is not going to come back. i mean that we've seen smaller scale burnings that took place in other parts of this country, including here in new york. i wry that -- that lots of other people -- lots of people have seen what the attention that terry jones has got and probably coming to the conclusion that that's a good way to get attent d just like as youremember, i'm not saying this exact same thing, but similar when the iraqi journalist threw a shoe at president bush. now shoes are thrown all over the place. i worry that koran burning is going to become the thing to do in protest that may have little to do with islam. >> do you have a sense of the people that we have seen in the demonstrations, who are these people? do they represent a faction or you think it's broader than that, that it's across the muslim world and they tend to
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actually speak for a broad and deep cross secti of the muslim world? >> well, as i said, you don't have to be an extremist to be offended by what jones is proposing to do. so i'm sure many people who come to the protests are perfectly otherwise rational moderate sensible people. as often happens in these cases, an extremist faction will speak the loudest, will seize the microphone, the attention and the camera. let's not forget that even if that is true, that many perfectly moderate mainstream muslims are just as alarmed looking at this country to see how muslims are treated. >> and you hear so much about the importance of the moderate muslim, moderate arab. do t they get that terry jones not billy graham? that this is just some extreme guy who is from the fringes who is not from the instream religious life in america? >> some of them do get it, of course. but they are also seeing that
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this preacher, pastor, speaks and the president of the united states is responding. the president of the unleited states goes on television saying to respond to terry jens. >> doesn't that mean something? >>t america takes religious reedom seriously, america is concerned about the repercussions but it also means to people who don't have that sophisticated media view, it may mean well, if this guy is drawg the response from the president of the united states he must be an important person. >> bobby ghosh, deputy editor for "time" magazine thank you for your insight and your time. up next, there is some stormy weathermoving east right now. plus, hurricane igor is in the open atlanta, sor it igor. as a powerful category four storm.as sapphire preferred are worth 25% more on travel. we're like forget florida, we're going on a safari. so we're onhe serengeti, and seth finds a reallyig bone.
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just as residents west of ulder were allowed to go back to their hos,me another fire north of that area, 30 miles north of loveland, colorado,on d this blaze consumed about 700 acres d firefighters had to scramble moving the assets to loveland. therwas one home that was burned, several others threatened and evacuations under way. only about 10% containment at this hour. good morning. i'm rob plarsian heno. the weather for the fire, not
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going the see a lot of moisture but not a tremendous amount of nd. the weather across much of the country fairly quiet. cool front all the way to the south. and that lowering humidity across the south, is welcome. the front that moved through new york last night with the heavy rain spoke rattic. that will be about it as far as the activeeather across the lower 48. but very active in the tropics. this is hurricane igor, winds 150 miles an hour, look at the size of that eye, continues to barrel to the west. also moving west is this, tropical storm julia but we don't think that julia is going to do a lot. the track of igor, expected to remain a major hurricane, maybe getting to category five status before it's done. starting the northerly progression toward bermuda in the general direction of the u.s., whether it gets this way we'll have to wait. keep your fingers crossed. a little closer to home, this is a little more concerning, this is the central caribbean.
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♪ still hard at work. >> they are. appreciate that. time for a.m. house call stories about your health. working long hours increases your chance for heart disease. staying in shape. a work week longer than 45 hours doubles the risk of fatal heart disease. the national institutes of health recommend as 30-minute workout three times a week. >> with the kids back in school a canadian safety group is experimenting with speed bump technology to keep them safe at busy intersections. this is unbelievable stuff. this is what drivers are seeing. it's an illusion created by a 3-d decal. that's frightening to look at. saefl officials hope it will get drivers to slow down near schools. they are monitoring the program now. looks prettyeffectivto me.
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welcome back to the most news in the morning. udsties show there is still discrimination against minorities when employers hire. if you are a black male and have a criminal record getting a job is even tougher. >> our stephanie elam found some are trying to change that. >> here is a basketball. >> gene knows all too well what a criminal record can do to a job search. once the top of hislass in high school he bgan selling coke to support his habit. >> once i started doing cocaine, it just shot straight to the top as far as my priority list. >> reporter: in 1989, he went to
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jail for drug trafficking. he served his time, paid his dues. >> october 7, 1997. and that's the day that i got clean. >> reporter: flash forward a decade, now married and a father was studying to become an electrician to better provide for his family. >> i did something they said had never been done, got 10 on each of the 12 tests. >> reporter: despi ote this the city of cincinnati revod its job offer. david is his lawyer. >> the city looked at gene, saw had two felony convictions in his past and said therefore you can't work for the city. it didn't care about his rehabilitation, it didn't care that he was ranked number one in his class each of the five year of the election trigs training. >> reporter: he fought to get cincinnati to ban the box, removing the criminal history from the job applications.
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employers are still free to ask the question later in the hiring process. the point is to give ex-offenders a chance at an interview. >> it's not felon first, employment programs. what it is, giving people a fair shot to compete for jobs where they are qualified. >> so this box issue, is it more of an issue for people of lor, for black men? >> statistics bear out that if you're a person of color, you are more likely to be the focus f the police, you're more likely to wind up in the criminal justicehi system. >> reporter: this summer connecticut joined minnesota and new mexico in banning the box on state job applications. while massachusetts and hawaii banned all employers from using the box. massachusetts state representative james ma selly is against softening the laws. >> i want to give everyone access to all of the iinnformatn regarding someone's criminal record that they can get. why not disclose everything up front? >> reporter: but victor rgarcia a professor of surgery in ohio
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believes there is a direct correlation between unemployment and the young people who end um in his eergency room. >> chronic joblessness is a direct cause for the growth of the illegal or informal economy and with that is a culture of gunshot wounds. >> reporter: now clean for nearly 13 years, mays is working for a transit company but he never did get that electrician's feb. >> once a felon, always a felon. so that's what generally leads a person back to the life of crime becae they feel like once they committed a crime, that it's no use now. those same individuals of this that were thinking like that can have a sense of hope. >> and please don't miss a black in america special, "almighty debt." it airs here on cnn. >> and continue the
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